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ANTHRO160

Seminar focused on issues of tropical sustainability with a particular emphasis on the Osa Peninsula of Costa Rica. Offered in conjunction with the Osa Initiative in the Wood¿s Institute for the Environment, the course highlights issues of human development in the tropics, through such means as agricultural development, ecotourism, conservation efforts, private and indigenous reserves, and mining. The course will draw from diverse disciplines including anthropology, rural sociology, conservation biology, geosciences, history, political science, and journalism. In addition to weekly discussions, students will development a research paper throughout the term which will be presented to a panel of selected Wood¿s Faculty during the final week of the term.

The ¿tragedy of the commons¿ is a classic social dilemma ¿ a situation in which individual interests conflict with collective ones ¿ and key to understanding past, present and future environmental degradation. This course surveys a variety of scientific perspectives on the essence of the tragedy: common property resources will ultimately be destroyed by overexploitation. Major themes include the effects of human population density and social organization on the health and management of commons, self-interest versus collective action, and potential solutions to commons problems. Modern and prehistoric case studies are examined from ecological and evolutionary perspectives.